Kavey--Excuse my tardiness, especially with respect to the other topic (now now...)but you DO blow hot-n-cold when it comes to my dear Roccco--What is it with you? Does it just depend on the day? Love Roccco one day, bash him over "common courtesy" the next....which is it?? Take a stand!!!
--Love STD

Oh dear STD. Does everything have to be Black and White for you?

I don't blow hot and cold at all.

I enjoy reading Rocco's posts about safaris and some of the other topics he brings up. I like his research and his enthusiasm.

I consistently dislike his sometimes arrogant and self-centered approach and call him when I think he's stepped over the line of good manners.

Does one have to like 100% of everything about a friend? I don't think so.

Rocco provides some great info and some great conversations and other times he gets on my nerves with his attitude and behaviour.

Seems I'm pretty consistent in the way I view him. Are you?

Kavey-
Sorry you got the brunt of this when we all have expressed our dismay to some of Rocco's postings. You just put it so well that I don't always add comments. I hate to hurt Rocco's feelings as I know he does tend to take every comment personally and I too think he contributes valuable input for these boards, however, for STD to jump in and criticize you is more than I care to ignore.
I think you handled it beautifully and want to say to not let this spoil your trip. The timing is very bad here since you are leaving for Africa tonight, but I think I speak for many others when I say.........you go girrrlllll! Liz

I suspect it is an April Fool's joke. Kavey is pretty consistently level-headed. Now, "can't we all just get along?"

Clematis-
Don't know who your post was to, but if someone unfairly targets Kavey I shall and will chime in. Just how I am. Of course we all can just get along if everyone agrees to. Just my view on it.

Hi Liz, the post was *definitely* not to you. I was saying that tired old phrase from Rodney King days tongue quite in cheek because the only way I could read that post, esp. on April Fool's Day (and knowing that Rocco has admitted to pretending to be STD once before for a joke), is that it was a timely fool. But if by any chance it wasn't, then even in jest my comment it was not meant to you.

No matter just who it was, Kavey didn't take it as a joke and unless we stand together, like when that jerk jumped on me and later on Sandi, we can easily be targets for someone else's bad moods. Kavey didn't deserve that just before her trip. Thanks Clem. Liz

Liz,

Please pay STD no mind...because she is an infrequent visitor, her sense of humor is sometimes not easily detected and she meant no harm. Just as Kavey was able to brush it off, I think the rest of the forum should as well.

Instead, let us continue to "hunt down" the hunting operators that are also pulling a double shift and selling safaris to those of us that abhor hunting, allowing us to unknowingly contribute to hunting by keeping these operators in business.

Thanks Rocco, but Kavey should not be anyone's target. Just as you know she speaks with a very straight tongue, STD should know too. Not fun to have to confront and something I think you could control. If it is a sense of humor, a smiley face portrays a lot. See.
I am really confused by the hunting. If the government of the respective countries encourages it, there is nothing we can do. I've always said that unless the Africans want things to change, they won't. It breaks my heart, but it is out of my control. I shall let it go now. Just my opinion. I have a few years on you and I've learned by butting my head against an immovable wall more times. Eventually you learn. Things don't really change. Liz

Liz,

Trust me, I am very apathetic about certain things, but I do think that in just a couple days an impact was already made, at least against a single hunting operation. Do not think that by seeing two Oxford Phd's peddling hunting trips that some people that would probably not otherwise engage in such an activity instead somehow justified it in their minds since it was run by two people that should know better.

You will not catch me voting in any elections, so I do understand about feeling as if sometimes whatever we do fails to have an impact, although that is not my reason for not voting. I just think that I can have ten times more power over my livelihood based on the way I live my life and by being self-employed rather than by voting for this wealthy old white man or that wealthy old white man.

But, trust me, if we go out on the offensive against operators such as Classic Africa / Classic Hunting Safaris and threaten their pocketbooks, they will think twice about selling hunting safaris. Also, if hunters that are all too proud to list their name, address and even phone numbers suddenly find that their information has been circulated to nearby animal rights activists, they may think twice about giving out such information. Since these hunters seem to do it as much to show off to anybody that is watching as for the thrill of the kill, if you take away their notoriety because they don't want their names and addresses publicized, they may think twice about spending $40,000 to travel 10,000 miles away simply to kill an animal but not being able to enjoy the notoriety afterward.

As an animal lover (I have seven dogs with all but one adopted and the other rescued at nearly nine months old from the pet store), I am very disturbed by any activity that harms animals, whether it is at home or 10,000 miles away. I do find it a sad commentary on these wealthy and seemingly very educated individuals that take pleasure in taking another living creature's life. I mean how does one KILL and then smile with an ear to ear grin beside the carcass? It's not exactly as if they are doing it for food, as is done in some cases with either native Africans or even native hunters in the USA.

I have no delusions about being able to single-handedly being able to end hunting in Africa, but I do think that I can have some sort of impact, however small. If my efforts ultimately change someone's mind about hunting, thus sparing the lives of animals, then I have accomplished my goal. If during those efforts, I expose operators such as Classic Africa, then so be it.

Hey Roccco, did you hear back from National Geographic?

ttt

(and by the way, National Geographic went ahead and proceeded with their scheduled trip through Classic Africa...needless to say, I did not renew my subscription for whatever that is worth)

ttt for an interested party